Pelletizing cotton lint

ABSTRACT

Lint removed from cottonseed by dry acid is compacted by pelletizing in a standard pellet mill.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS:

This is a division of application Ser. No. 277,400, filed Aug. 2, 1972,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,608 on Oct. 25, 1977.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to acid delinting of cottonseed and moreparticularly to disposing of the lint therefrom.

2. Description of the Prior Art

When cotton is ginned, the seed are not thoroughly cleaned but are left"fuzzy". The fuzzy cottonseed, which are an important by-product of theginning process, are usually disposed of in one of two ways.

Most of the cottonseed have the oil extracted from them and then theresidue, in the form of meal, is sold for cattle feed. Before theextraction of the oil, the seed are delinted, usually by a saw process.The lint thus removed is baled in 500 pound bales and sold throughregular channels of trade. The product is known as "linters", which arenormally used in various chemical processes as a source of cellulose, aswell as stuffing for upholstery.

The remaining cottonseed are used for planting purposes. The cottonseedmay be planted in the fuzzy condition. However, more commonly, they aredelinted. One process of delinting is to saw delint them. In such case,lint is disposed of as above. The more common process of delintingcottonseed used for planting purposes is by the dry acid process. Thedry acid process is a well known commercial process in which the seedare exposed to anhydrous hydrogen chloride (HCl). The seed arethereafter tumbled in a perforated drum to separate the seed and lint.The seed are then neutralized by exposure to anhydrous ammonia.

In this specification, "dry acid process" will be used to refer to thisprocess although it is also known as the gas process.

After having rubbed the lint off the seed in the perforated tumblingdrum, the lint presently customarily is blown to an incinerator where itis burned. This is a source of atmospheric polution, but burning isstill permitted under polution laws of the State of Texas because nobetter way is known to dispose of this waste product of an essentialindustry.

SUMMARY OF THIS INVENTION

I have found a new way of disposing and utilizing of the fuzz or lintproduced from dry acid delinting. I dispose of the lint by pelletizingit through a standard pelletizing machine called pellet mill. After ithas been pelletized, it has some value for the cellulose content. Cattlewill eat these pellets even if they are pure lint. Pellets of pure lintmay be mixed in with other feed and fed to cattle in this form.

Larger pellets are sometimes called cubes in the trade, but forconvenience, I refer to them as pellets in this application.

Also, in the preparation of cottonseed for planting purposes, certainculls are removed from the heavier seed. If the culls are mixed with thelint, this forms a more palatable and nutritious feed for cattle.Molasses can be added to improve the physical characteristics of thepellet as well as improve the palatability of the pellet.

Even if the pellets have no value of other use, they could still bespread upon ground and plowed under in cultivated fields, thus disposingof the lint. They would do no harm to the fields (where the soil isbasic rather than acidic) and would be of some advantage as an adjunctto the soil. After it has been removed from the seed, it is a simplematter to expose the lint to anhydrous ammonia to neutralize the acid;therefore, making it more desirable as a feed and less corrosive tohandle.

Expressed in another way, I have taken a waste product which isdifficult to dispose of and turned it into a by-product having value.

An object of this invention is to use or dispose of lint produced by dryacid delinting of cottonseed.

Other objects are to achieve the above with a product that is sturdy,compact and durable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture and handle.

Further objects are to achieve the above with a method that isversatile, rapid, efficient, and inexpensive, and does not requireskilled people to install, adjust, operate, and maintain.

The specific nature of the invention, as well as other objects, uses,and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the followingdescription.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In all examples, the lint was from dry acid delinting of cottonseed.

EXAMPLE 1.

Lint from a dry acid delinting plant was fed directly into a pellet millwith one-half inch round die. The die became rather hot and the pelletproduced was also hot, but a stable half-inch diameter pellet of purelint was produced. The pellet had a pH of 3.0.

EXAMPLE 2.

One hundred pounds of lint and 100 pounds of culls from dry aciddelinting were mixed thoroughly and fed directly into a pellet millhaving a half-inch round die. The product formed a satisfactory pelletwith considerably less temperature than when using pure cottonseed lint.The pellets were trough fed where range cattle were grazing and thecattle ate the pellets.

An analysis of the pellet showed the following:

    ______________________________________                                               Protein                                                                              16.02%                                                                 Fat   11.08                                                                   Fiber 44.00                                                                   pH    3.1                                                              ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 3.

One hundred pounds of lint and 200 pounds of culls were mixed thoroughlyand fed directly into a pellet mill. A stable half-inch round pellet wasformed from the one-half inch die. The pellets were trough fed whererange cattle were grazing and the cattle ate the pellets.

An analysis thereof showed the following:

    ______________________________________                                               Protein                                                                              21.57%                                                                 Fat   14.82                                                                   Fiber 33.62                                                                   pH    3.7                                                              ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 5.

One hundred pounds of lint and 100 pounds of culls and 40 pounds ofmolasses were mixed thoroughly and fed to a pellet mill with a 3/8 inchdiameter round die. A good, hard and durable pellet was produced.

The pellet had the following analysis:

    ______________________________________                                        Nitrogen            1.83%                                                     Ammonia             2.23                                                      Protein             11.46                                                     Fat                 8.34                                                      Moisture            10.10                                                     Fiber               32.43                                                     Ash                 5.07                                                      Nitrogen-free                                                                 extract             32.43                                                     Digestible energy                                                             KCAL/LB             982.5                                                     Total digestible                                                              nutrients           49.13                                                     pH                  3.5                                                       ______________________________________                                    

The pellets were trough fed and were eaten readily by the range cattle.

EXAMPLE 6.

Fifty pounds lint, 50 pounds culls and 10 pounds of molasses werethoroughly mixed together and fed directly to a pellet mill with 1/4inch round die. A good, hard and durable pellet was formed. However,because of the small size of the die, production was slow. Cattle atethe product.

A physical examination of the product produced through the 1/4 inch dieshowed the culls to have been crushed as they were forced through thedie. This seemed to result in a better product than with the use ofeither a 1/2 inch die or 3/8 inch die, however, as noted before, it tookconsiderably longer for the product to go through the smaller die.

EXAMPLE 7.

Fifty pounds of lint and 50 pounds of culls and 10 pounds of molasseswere fed directly to a pellet mill with 3/16th inch die. A good pelletwas formed but production was slow. It was concluded that on acommercial economic basis, the 3/16th inch die was as small a die thatwould be commercially feasible. Cattle ate the product.

EXAMPLE 8.

Fifty pounds of lint was mixed with 50 pounds of culls and 10 pounds ofmolasses and directly fed to a pellet mill having a 3/4 inch square die.A good, hard and durable pellet was formed. The culls were not crushedas they went through the die. Production was at a high rate per time.The product was presented to cattle and they are it.

EXAMPLE 9.

One hundred pounds of lint was mixed with 100 pounds of culls and 10pounds of molasses. This mixture was fed through a pellet mill having a1 inch round die. Although pellets were formed which were good anddurable, they were somewhat crumbly. Also, they seemed to crumble moreupon handling than smaller sizes. It was concluded that 1 inch diameterpellets were about the maximum of pellets desirable to manufacture.Cattle ate the product.

EXAMPLE 10.

Lint from dry acid delinting of cottonseed was neutralized by exposingthe lint to an atmosphere of anhydrous ammonia as the lint was beingconveyed in an auger. The neutralized lint was fed to a pellet millhaving 1/2 inch round die; a satisfactory hard, durable pellet wasformed. Analysis showed the product to have a pH of 6.5.

As the result of this, it is believed that by adjusting the length oftime the lint is neutralized, if desired by adding ammonia to the lint,a product could be produced having a pH of 8.5.

EXAMPLE 11.

Fifty pounds of lint, 30 pounds of culls and 20 pounds of ground grainsorghum and 10 pounds of molasses were mixed and put through the pelletmill having 1/2 inch round die. A good, satisfactory pellet was formedand eaten by cattle when presented to them.

EXAMPLE 12.

Fifty pounds of lint, 30 pounds of culls and 20 pounds of cracked cornand 10 pounds of molasses were mixed and put through the pellet millhaving 1/2 inch round die. A good, satisfactory pellet was formed andwas eaten by the cattle when presented to them.

EXAMPLE 13.

Fifty pounds of lint, 30 pounds of culls and 20 pounds of alfalfa mealand 10 pounds of molasses were mixed and put through the pellit millhaving 1/2 inch round die. A good, satisfactory pellet was formed andwas eaten by the cattle when presented to them.

EXAMPLE 14.

Fifty pounds of lint, 10 pounds of ground sorghum, 10 pounds ofcottonseed meal and 10 pounds of molasses were mixed and put through thepellet mill having 1/2 inch round die. A good, staisfactory pellet wasformed and was eaten by the cattle when presented to them.

EXAMPLE 15.

Fifty pounds of lint, 20 pounds of alfalfa meal, 20 pounds of groundcorn and 10 pounds of molasses were mixed and put through the pelletmill having 1/2 inch die. A good, satisfactory pellet was produced andwas eaten when presented to the cattle.

From these examples and particularly from the examples using lint andculls, lint and corn, lint and grain sorghum, lint and alfalfa meal, andlint and cottonseed meal, it was concluded that the lint could be mixedwith any standard, common cattle feed to form a product that cattlewould eat; therefore, disposing of the product. Better results were hadwith the lint being neutralized with anhydrous ammonia beforepelletizing if it is to be used for cattle feed. Also, it was concludedthat the product has better handling characteristics and less corrosionfor storing if it is neutralized before pelletizing.

Also, it was concluded that with the efficient handling of the lint asproduced by the dry gas process, dry gas process would be an efficientmeans of delinting the seed before the extraction of oil for thecottonseed oil mills rather than the use of saw delinting.

Various binders other than molasses could be included, however, it isbelieved that their inclusion is not necessary, but at the time of thefiling of this application, work is being done upon this.

By cattle, I mean to include bovine, sheep, goats and other ruminants.

The embodiments shown and described above are only exemplary. I do notclaim to have invented all the parts, elements or steps described.Various modifications can be made in the construction, material,arrangement, and operation, and still be within the scope of myinvention. The limits of the invention and the bounds of the patentprotection are measured by and defined in the following claims. Therestrictive description and drawing of the specific examples above donot point out what an infringement of this patent would be, but are toenable the reader to make and use the invention.

SUBJECT MATTER CLAIMED FOR PROTECTION

I claim as my invention:
 1. The method of handling lint produced as abyproduct from the dry acid process of delinting cottonseedcomprising:a. pelletizing the lint by b. extruding the lint through adie in a standard pellet mill.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1with an additional limitation ofc. adding not more than twice as muchcottonseed culls as lint to the lint before pelletizing.
 3. Theinvention as defined in claim 1 with an additional limitation ofc.adding not more than half as much molasses and not more than twice asmuch cottonseed culls as lint to the lint before pelletizing.
 4. Theinvention as defined in claim 1 with an additional limitation ofc.adding not more than twice as much conventional cattle feed as lint tothe lint before pelletizing.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 1 withan additional limitation ofc. feeding the pellets to cattle.
 6. Theinvention as defined in claim 1 with an additional limitation ofc.neutralizing the lint by exposure to NH₃ before pelletizing.
 7. Theinvention as defined in claim 6 with an additional limitation ofd.feeding the pellets to cattle.
 8. The invention as defined in claim 7with an additional limitation ofe. adding not more than twice as muchcottonseed culls as lint to the lint before pelletizing.
 9. Theinvention as defined in claim 7 with an additional limitation ofe.adding not more than half as much molasses and not more than twice asmuch cottonseed culls as lint as lint to the lint before pelletizing.10. The invention as defined in claim 7 with an additional limitationofe. adding not more than three times as much conventional cattle feedas lint to the lint before pelletizing.
 11. The method of utilizing lintproduced by dry acid delinting of cotton seed comprising feeding saidproduct to cattle.
 12. The method of claim 11 with an additionallimitation of adding cotton seed culls to the product before feeding.13. The method of claim 11 with an additional limitation of addingconventional cattle feed to the product before feeding.
 14. The methodof claim 1 with an additional limitation of adding molasses to theproduct before feeding.
 15. The method of claim 11 with an additionallimitation of adding cotton seed culls and molasses to the productbefore feeding.